Monday, April 11, 2011

Ireland

The Mrs. and I had been planning to go to Ireland for the last five years, and we finally went.

Gina on The Burren. Or at the Burren? Anyway, the limestone rocks there are like nothing I've ever seen

Connemara

At the top of Diamond Hill in Connemara. We hiked half way up and stopped to draw. We were chased off the hill by a passing rainstorm. We were going to leave, but the weather changes so quickly there, we decided to wait it out, and try again for the top. Despite the fact that Gina lost her hat on the way up, I'm glad we did.

On the way back from Connemara

When we went to Dingle, it was overcast and foggy, which I think made for better pictures.

Taken at a falconry demonstration at The Burren Birds of Prey Centre. The Falcon started the show by dissappering over the hills for like 10 minutes or so. Apparently the falcon wasn't too hungry (and therefore motivated) and decided to ride some warm air currents for a while. When he decided to come back, he more than made up for it, putting on a clinic of speed and agility, earning a "Stuart Little" for his efforts.

The Rock of Cashel. The little doorways between the windows of the monastary is actually a passage way for the bishop so that he could navigate the the building without being seen. You can also see the iconic Irish round tower behind the wall.

The kerbstone of the neolithic tomb at Newgrange in County Meath. The tomb there, along with others around the Boyne River are older than the pyramids, dating back to 3200 BC. There are a lot of ideas about the specifics meaning on the swirl patterns on the kerbstone, but the stone itself acts as a boundry. To enter the tomb, one has to cross the stone, leaving the material world and entering the spirit world. We got a chance to travel down the extremely narrow passageway to the inner chamber. In the picture you can see a window above the entrance. This is so that on the winter solstice, and only on that day, the first rays of the sun reach all the way into the inner chamber. Apparently there is a lottery to be in the chamber on that day with thousands of people hoping to get the chance. What if it was cloudy that day?Also, in inside the chamber, along with more neolithic carvings is grafitti carvings from like the 1830's.

Sheep on the road in Connemara.

While in County Meath, we also visited Trim Castle. This is a view of the main keep from a side gate. Trim Castle is the biggest Anglo Norman castle in Ireland, built in the late 1100's. It's also the castle where Braveheart was filmed.

Skellig Michael has got to be one of the coolest places on the planet. About 9 miles of the coast of County Kerry, it was the site of a monastery founded in the 7th century. We were lucky to find someone going out to the island this early in the season (it was actually the first trip they made this year), and due to the rough conditions we weren't able to land on the island. Despite that minor dissapointment, it still was a truly mind blowing experience.

Skellig Michael again, showing the mist shrouded summit. You can see in this picture the winding staircase to the top.

We must have taken at least 700 pictures , along with iPhone videos. More of them can be seen on Gina's flickr. I'll also probably posting more about it from time time to time, including some sketches I was able to do while over there. As with all trips, we didn't get to see everything, but we did enjoy everything we saw, and hope to get back some time in the future.

2 comments:

Dude. Amazing. I'm so glad you posted pictures, looks like you had one awesome trip! I'll probably be using the photos on Gina's flickr for some landscape studies ;) Those cliffs are so epic! I'm so envious of you and Gina.

We should grab a beer and catch up now that you're back! maybe life drawing soon?